The fifth generation of Pokémon, known by fans due to its version names as the monochrome generation, is the fifth installment of the Pokémon series. Like previous generations, the first installments, Pokémon Black and White, were released as a pair. However, unlike previous generations, the games were followed by two sequels, Pokémon Black and White 2 instead of a third version. For the first time since Generations I and II, the games were released on the same platform as all five of the previous generation's main series titles, in this case the Nintendo DS.

Unova, the new region introduced in this generation, is known to be far away from the regions of previous generations. Unlike the past four, Unova is based on an area outside of Japan, drawing inspiration from the New York City metropolitan area.

The Generation V games are able to communicate with the five Generation IV games in the same way that the Generation III games can communicate with the Generation IV games, with players able to transfer Pokémon via a method similar to Pal Park. Pokémon caught in a Generation III game are able to move forward to Generation V by passing through Generation IV games.

Advances in gameplay

Being the first games on the same console as their predecessors since Generation II, the Generation V games enhance the Pokémon experience on the DS in several ways. Advancements introduced in Generation V include:

The addition of 156 new Pokémon, bringing the total to 649. No Pokémon from previous generations can be found in Unova itself until after the National Pokédex is obtained.

The addition of 41 new Abilities, bringing the total to 164. Many older Pokémon are allowed to have new Abilities, including some that were introduced in Generation III and Generation IV, by transferring them from the Dream World. This effectively gives most Pokémon three legitimate abilities, rather than the two which have been standard since Generation III.

Yet another region to explore, the Unova region, far away from the previous four and based on New York City, rather than a region of Japan.

A new villainous team, Team Plasma, whose goals include separating the worlds of Pokémon and humans to make a black and white world.

The new Pokémon Global Link, which allows players to connect their games to the internet to view statistics or download some changes to the games, such as the design of the Pokédex. This also grants players access to the Pokémon Dream World, where players may befriend Pokémon and send them over to their games.

Weather conditions and the current time are now displayed on the bottom screen during battle when making selections as to what to do during the turn.

One new variant of Poké Ball, the Dream Ball, retaining the 25 found in previous games.

The Apricorn Poké Balls and the Sport Ball are inaccessible without hacking and do not function as Poké Balls even if acquired; however, Pokémon caught in these Poké Balls in HeartGold and SoulSilver retain them when sent to a Generation V game.

Pokémon now animate constantly throughout battle, rather than simply animating upon exiting a Poké Ball as in previous generations. These animations are reminiscent of those of Pokémon Crystal, rather than the two-sprite distortion method that has been the standard since Pokémon Emerald. The speed at which Pokémon move slows as the HP goes down and with most status ailments, and frozen Pokémon do not move at all.

When a Pokémon is affected by a status ailment, in addition to slowing movement, it also glows a color depending on the status ailment (except for sleep). When a Pokémon is asleep, it uses a different sprite that depicts it sleeping, usually with its eyes closed.

The back sprites of Pokémon show the Pokémon's body in full, with their poses and animations being the same as the front sprite, but seen from behind.

The battle music changes under certain conditions. When one of the player's Pokémon on the battlefield has less than 25% of their HP, the music changes to a faster, more suspenseful music. When battling a Gym Leader's last Pokémon, the music also changes.

The overworld music also changes in certain circumstances. Almost all the routes now have instruments that differ between the seasons, and layers that activate and deactivate when the player walks or stops, respectively; while music that plays in some towns and cities have layers that can be added by talking to citizens. These people can be seen playing different musical instruments like piano, guitar, etc.

In the Japanese version of the game, the option to display kanji in game menus and text is available, in addition to hiragana and katakana as in the previous four generations.

In international versions of the game, Pokémon names are displayed with only one capital letter, rather than having all capital letters, as it was prior to Generation V.

The number of boxes in the Pokémon Storage System has been increased from 18 to 24. However, players only start with 8 boxes. Additional space is available once the player has placed one captured Pokémon in each of the 8 boxes, then receiving an additional 8 boxes for storage, bringing the total to 16. This cycle continues until the player finally has 24 boxes, for a storage total of 720 Pokémon.

TMs have expanded from 92 to 95. Many of the 92 TMs found in Generation IV contain different moves.

To prevent repeated usage of TMs for the purpose of PP restoration, when a Pokémon forgets a move in order to learn from a TM or HM, the move learned takes on the current PP of the move replaced (up to its own maximum).

The number of HMs has been reduced from eight to six. The first four remain the same as during the first four generations; HM05 is now Waterfall and HM06 is now Dive.

The trading process has been upgraded: players may now trade Pokémon directly from their PC boxes, without having to place offered Pokémon in their party first. The Global Terminal also allows players to trade using this method. Furthermore, players can trade outside of the Pokémon Center via infrared.

The expansion of key item registration to include access to several menu screens. After being registered, the player can access a quick access menu by pressing the Y Button.

While the framerate for the overworld is still 30, the framerate has been increased to 60 for battles, the title screen, and 2D menus. However, the opening only has a framerate of 15.

When Pokémon are sent out, there is a sound effect and visual effect as they land which varies depending on the weight of the Pokémon (unless it's a Pokémon that stays airborne like Hydreigon, Ho-Oh or Goldeen; or it is Diglett or Dugtrio).

The persistent bottom-screen menu from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is no longer present, as that screen now displays the C-Gear. The menu is brought up on the touch screen in the same way, though, with X.

The way some key items are used, such as the Dowsing Machine, has been altered.

Region

Unova

Like previous generations, another new region, the Unova region, is introduced in Pokémon Black and White. Unlike the previous four regions, which are relatively close in respect to one another, Unova has been revealed to be distant from them, with the only way to travel between it and the other four being boat or airplane.

Discussion of Generation V

Unova thematic motif

The fifth generation of Pokémon games focuses on the relationships between opposites, such as nature and industry or humans and Pokémon. This comes from the concept of Yin and Yang, which the legendary mascots of Pokémon Black and White, Reshiram and Zekrom, are based on, with another reference being that Reshiram is the mascot of Black and Zekrom being the mascot of White-- both are opposite colored to the game's color, while version mascots beforehand had always matched. The Swords of Justice also represent this theme as they are trying to prevent Pokémon from losing their natural habitats to human industry. The generation's main antagonists, Team Plasma, also fit in with this theme, as their goal is to separate Pokémon from humans. Some of the cities also reflect this theme by being aesthetically different depending on the version of the game; two major examples of this are Black City and White Forest, two version-exclusive locations. The Dream World, which is supposed to combine dreams and reality, also fit into this theme.

Generation V introduces the most new Pokémon to the series, with 156 (five more than Generation I introduced).

Generation V is the first generation since Generation I not to introduce any baby Pokémon or cross-generational relatives.

Generation V is also the first generation where the number of legendary Pokémon introduced did not increase from the previous generation. In this case, Generation V introduced 13 legendary Pokémon, and Generation IV introduced 14 legendary Pokémon if Phione is a legendary Pokémon or 13 legendary Pokémon if it is not.